Tim Schmitt: Bills hit bottom

Wednesday

Sep 26, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 26, 2007 at 8:01 PM

Maybe this is best. Try to remove yourself, the emotion you’ve invested, the sunny Sundays in which you’ve snubbed the greens at Willowbrook for a lumpy recliner. And realize that as much as the pain intensifies with every twist, maybe this is necessary.

Tim Schmitt

Maybe this is best. Try to remove yourself, the emotion you’ve invested, the sunny Sundays in which you’ve snubbed the greens at Willowbrook for a lumpy recliner. And realize that as much as the pain intensifies with every twist, maybe this is necessary.

After what seems like ages of mediocrity, second-half surges and draft choices in the teens, the Bills have finally swan dived to rock bottom. Sunday’s 38-7 Foxborough massacre was nothing more than a symptom of a disease that’s been festering.

The Patriots aren’t just good, they’re where the Sabres were last January, at a point where nothing less than a championship will suffice by season’s end. And the Bills, whose first order of business is filling the roster before getting it to read the same playbook, aren’t looking to win, but to simply stay close into the second half.

Angry with the effort? How can you be? Consider the plight of the Bills’ Jabari Greer, who tucked himself in on Sunday night knowing he’d be on the wrong end of every national highlight package.

In a perfect world, Greer’s role would be as a dime back, popping in only when the opposition threw a three- or four-wide receiver set at Buffalo. Even then he might be overmatched.

On Sunday, with a rejuvenated Randy Moss across the line of scrimmage, Greer pulled on his face mask and dug in. In the second quarter with the Patriots sniffing around the goal line, Greer watched as Moss started outside, then darted inside. He closed just like he’s been taught, expecting a Tom Brady offering.

Greer turned inside, took a textbook swipe at the ball, then heard the roar of the Gillette Stadium crowd.

Brady to Moss. Touchdown.

The play brought the disparity in talent into perfect focus. Greer did everything he could. Was right where he should have been.

Didn’t matter.

Later, the two made more magic, this time on a 45-yard play that looked like a certain overthrow. Moss didn’t quit on the route, though, and Brady heaved it to a spot where only his guy could get after it.

Again, there was nothing Greer could do. The undrafted free agent from Tennessee was simply out of his league.

Just like the Bills were clearly out of theirs.

The good news is that Buffalo has blue-chippers in rookies Paul Posluszny and Marshawn Lynch, already two of the fingers if you’re picking a handful of the Bills best players. The loss of Posluszny is already more devastating than that of J.P. Losman, if only because Buffalo doesn’t have a player close in talent to plug in.

But this has to be the starting point. In a league that’s built to help the beaten get healthy, the Bills will finally get Grade A talent by picking near the top of the draft. They’ll have to come to grips with the mistake they’ve made at quarterback, and maybe alter their view that younger and cheaper is better.

Buffalo can, and will get better. Between the draft setup and salary cap, it has to. There’s truth to the old saying that it’s darkest before the dawn.